


Closet Thespian

by Genius_626



Series: Thespians [1]
Category: Beauty and the Beast (1991), Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Bad Parenting, Forgiveness, M/M, Redemption, Teen Romance, closet gay characters, complex gaston, discrimination/stereotyping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-12
Updated: 2017-07-12
Packaged: 2018-12-01 04:34:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11478702
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Genius_626/pseuds/Genius_626
Summary: Gaston has known his truth for years, but has never told a soul, in fear that his parents will completely cut him off. Not even his best friend knows that he's gay, and he's been in love with Lefou for quite some time now.All aboard the angst train, which is fueled by my trash ideas.





	Closet Thespian

**Author's Note:**

> *sigh*
> 
> I didn't want to do this, but this fringe fandom left me no choice. Here's an angsty, modern AU, Gaston redemption fic that no one asked for.

It was a Monday morning. The sun had just begun to rise when Gaston's phone went off. The rapid vibration made for a jarring wake up call, as it was sitting on his pillow just next to his ear. With bleary eyes and a fumbling hand, he reached for the phone and swiped the screen.

“You’ve reached dead-to-the-world-Gaston, leave a message after the tone.”

_“Gaston! You slept through your alarm again, didn’t you?”_

It was Lefou. He'd picked up the habit of calling Gaston in the morning to make sure he was coming to school on time.

Gaston groaned loudly and picked himself up, getting to his feet and blinking away the sleep in his eyes. “How late am I?”

_“Not late, I called early this time. Want me to pick you up?”_

“No, no, I’ll pick you up.” Gaston said, walking into his closest and picking out a pristine shirt and clean pants. “I want to show off my new car as much as possible.”

 _“Right, that monster.”_ Lef sighed. _“Geez, how much did your dad pay for that thing?”_

“I didn’t ask. Hey, did I fall asleep on you last night?" 

 _"Yeah, but I figured as much."_ Lefou answered. _"It's ok, it's not like we were_ studying for today's the quiz _or anything."_

"...But we were studying for the quiz." Gaston said, putting the phone on speaker so that he could change his clothes. 

 _"Sarcasm is like a foreign language to you."_ Lefou said, chuckling to himself. 

"Well, I did flunk Spanish, so I'm not sure I'm very good with languages anyway." Gaston answered, pulling a yellow polo shirt over his head.

_"Oh my god. Anyway, I took the liberty of making us both some note sheets, since we're allowed one."_

“You’re the best, Lef!" Gaston said, pulling on his boots. "I’ll grab a quick breakfast, then I'll see you in a few.”

_“Ok, see you.”_

Gaston hung up the phone and finished getting dressed. Stepping back into his room, he got his backpack and caught himself in the mirror. Looking at himself, he sighed before smiling. His mother always told him to “fake it ‘till you make it,” and boy, was he a professional now. In his red hoodie, dark jeans, and his favorite boots, he knew he was going to get a lot of attention from a few of the girls at school today.

Which is exactly what he kept telling himself that he wanted.

Gaston sped into the kitchen, comb in hand. He brushed back his hair while picking out a cereal bar from the shelf, knowing he didn’t have time to make himself a substantial breakfast.

“Late rising today, son?” His father asked from his seat at the kitchen table. His head was down reading through e-mails on his phone.

“Yep.” Gaston replied. He tried not to think of his mornings at Lefou's house and how different they were. He used to sleep over on school nights when they were younger, back when his father allowed them to. Lefou's mother would wake them for breakfast, and his father would make them stacks of pancakes before they went off to school. 

“Hey, before you go," His father said just as Gaston was about to leave the kitchen. "Do you know a boy by the name of Stanley?”

“Perkins?” Gaston asked, getting a nod from his father. “We’re in a study group together, and we play soccer at lunch sometimes with the rest of the boys.”

“Well, I’d advise you to stay away from him, from now on.” His father stood from his seat and looked at him with intensity serious, concerned eyes. “It’s come to my attention that he’s homosexual.”

Gaston froze. Of course Stanley was gay, but had he been outed? To Gaston’s knowledge, Stanley had never said anything out loud about his orientation.

“How do you know?” Gaston asked.

“His father works for me as one of my subordinates. I overheard him talking about his son just yesterday. He recently came out to both his parents.” He looked away in disgust. “I would not have you socializing with someone so _ill_.”

Gaston felt a pang in his stomach and turned away, mumbling that he’d stay away from Stanley, and that he was going to be late if he talked any longer. He practically ran out the door, right past his mother in the living room. Thoughts and feelings all bubbled up inside him as he got into his car. Slamming the door and pulling the mirror down, he looked at himself and took a deep breath.

“The ladies love you, and you love the ladies.” He said to himself. “Dad’s proud of you. Mom’s proud of you. Your’e the quarterback, and you were the junior prom king. Everything’s perfect.” He stared for a moment longer, forcing a smile before starting the car and heading for Lef’s house.

…

Gaston and Lefou made it to the parking lot just as the warning bell rang. They both had first period together, so they walked to the science lab.

“I feel like going out for lunch today. Want to come?” Gaston asked. Seniors were allowed to go out and eat off campus, and now that Gaston had a car, he could go wherever he wanted. He hoped it would be an excuse for him and Lefou to hang out alone.

“That’s be great--Oh wait, actually, I told Stanley we could hang out at lunch today. He’s had a pretty rough week. He said he wanted to talk, uh, one _thespian_ to another. If you know what I mean.”

At the mention of Stanley's name, Gaston was reminded of his father's absurd request to stay away form him. “Yeah, of course I do.” He answered Lefou, grumbling slightly. 

Gaston and Lefou had known each other since kindergarten, and had been close friends for almost as long. There was little Lefou didn't share with his best friend, and in the seventh grade, Gaston was the first person he came out to. At first, it’d been a little difficult, since Gaston’s father was famous for being anti-LGBT everything, so they came up with the code word “thespian,” since Lefou was also a theatre kid. It was an innocuous code that had lasted between them since they'd coined it. 

“That’s ok.” Gaston said, sounding a little defeated. "Maybe we can hang out after school today."

“I can't, I have work right after." Lefou relied. "Pizzas don't deliver themselves. But, are you Ok today, man?” Lefou asked, picking up on Gaston's mild disappointment, as well as his general unease.

“Yeah, I’m always Ok.” Gaston said with a practiced, confident smile. He looked at his friend, and for a brief moment, his heart fluttered in his chest. The look of genuine concern on Lefou’s face made Gaston want to kiss him. No one cared about him like Lefou did, but the tragedy was, he could never come out, not as long as he wanted his parents, let alone the rest of his family, in his life.

…

Lunch came along, and so Lefou and Stanley went to the bleachers around the football field to talk. Gaston decided to hang around, not close enough to eavesdrop or anything, but he could at least see them from the field, so if anyone were to mess with them, he'd know.

He ate quickly and went to get Tom and Dick for some catching practice. They threw the football back and forth between the three of them for a few minutes before taking a water break. 

“I heard Stanley quit the soccer team.” Tom said, taking a swig of water from the fountain at the side of the field.

“Whoa.” Dick whistled. “Why?”

“I heard it’s because he got outed, and the team shamed him into quitting.”

“I’d do the same thing if a gay guy was on our team.” Dick said, shivering. “I don’t want to change in front of some pervert.”

Gaston was quiet, he had no idea what to say. Tom and Dick weren't too different from most of the other boys at school. If he said anything to question them, then they'd most likely question him. 

“The gays should leave sports to the real men.” Dick added on.

Gaston forced a smile, like he always did, before their conversation was interrupted.

“Can you boys please either move on or go back to your game?”

It was Belle, their classmate and president of the student body. She was reading on the first row of the bleachers, right within earshot of them.

“Why’s that, Belle?” Gaston asked, stepping closer and hopping up onto the railing. Belle had moved to their little town just two years ago. She was also the only girl in the school that Gaston was sure had never had a crush on him. He didn't know whether he found that attractive, or whether he was relieved that she would never be into him.

“Because you and your friends are being extremely disrespectful, and I don’t want to here it.” She answered.

“How about you go on a date with me, then I’ll make sure that Tom and Dick are never within earshot of you ever again.”

“Ugh!” Belle made a noise of disgust. “I’m seeing someone right now. And even if I wasn’t, I would never go on a date with you.”

Gaston huffed, secretly delighted. He’d been rejected by Belle many times in the last two years, which was a bit of a saving grace. Before Belle had moved here, he'd dated a handful of girls, and not one had ever rejected him. He never took any one girl out more than two dates, and he'd been known as a bit of a serial dater, but now all he had to do was constantly be rejected by one girl so that he had more time for Lefou. 

“Can you at least tell me why?” He asked, making a show of their conversation to his friends.

“Do you really want to know why, Gaston? Do you think you can handle the truth?”

“Lay it on me, sister.”

“Ok, you asked for it." Belle said, slamming her book closed. "I think you’re fake. Everything you do and say is rubbish. You pamper yourself every single second of the day because all you seem to care about is your appearance. And you use Lefou, our mutual friend, all the time!”

Gaston was surprised with her entire outburst. A real twinge of guilt struck him. “I don’t use him!”

Belle began to count on her finger as she recalled his misdeeds. “In the eighth grade, he did all your maths for you. In freshman year, you had him write an entire english paper for you. Just last year, he lied for you to get you out of detention, and now, he’s calling you in the mornings because you can’t set your own fucking alarm clock!”

Gaston was taken aback. He stepped off the railing to find that Tom and Dick were still right behind him.

“I’ve changed, Belle.” He said. "I’m not making him do my homework anymore, we have study groups now. And yeah, he’s lied for me, but that’s because we look out for each other.”

“Grow up Gaston.” Belle said before packing her things and leaving.

The warning bell rang, and none of the three boys said another word to each other.

…

Gaston couldn’t focus for the rest of the day. While classes commenced, Belle’s harsh words echoed through his mind.

He and Lefou had sixth period together, Engineering with Mr. Maurice, Belle’s dad. This class was Gaston’s favorite. It was the most practical, even if it was quite hard to learn.

“Hey...Belle told me what happened at lunch today.” Lefou said.

“…Yeah.” Gaston mumbled, looking up from his work on an old car engine, grease somehow having gotten everywhere. “You um…you must tell her a lot.”

"Yeah." Lefou said. "We hang out in literature club."

A few beats pass between them before Gaston speaks again. “Are you mad at me?”

Lefou hesitated. “I’m not mad. I just…have to vent to someone, sometimes. You’ve had me do some stuff that I’m not proud of. And you bug Belle a lot too. You’ve made her really uncomfortable in the past.”

Gaston bit his tongue and went back to work.

“And you never apologize for anything.” Lefou continued. “It gets harder and harder to do things for you when you don’t own up to your actions.”

Gaston stopped working and snapped his eyes up. His voice grew harsh when he answered. “Well then, maybe we shouldn’t be friends.”

“W-what?!” Lefou stammered.

“Maybe it’s just not supposed to be a thing, Ok?” Gaston was steaming. “If I’m so much trouble to be around, then why are you even trying?”

Lefou looked shocked. They stared at each other for a heated moment before Lefou said, in a quiet voice, “Because I’m in love with you.”

Gaston’s eyes widened, his heart clenched, and he dropped his tools. They clattered onto the ground, getting Maurice’s attention from across the room. As the teacher approached, Gaston couldn’t speak, and Lefou’s eyes began to water.

“What’s all this, then?” Maurice asked.

Lefou turned and walked away, mumbling about needing to go to the bathroom before grabbing the hall pass hanging on the wall and leaving. Gaston looked up with intense eyes, too many feelings stirring in him.

“Do you need to step into my office?” Maurice asked. “What did you say to him?”

“I didn’t say anything.” Gaston replied. _I should have said that I love him too._

…

Gaston waited for Lefou by his car. He waited until there was no one else in the parking lot. He drove home feeling sick to his stomach.

He went through the back door and upstairs to his room. Entering his walk-in closet, he took a deep breath before reaching for a bag he’d hidden behind his jackets. It was a large back pack, one he’d gotten at a camping store. He went around his room and began stuffing it with his favorite things, clothes, necessities, etc. Going down to his car through the back door again, he threw the bag in the trunk. Looking at his childhood home, he wondered just how reckless his plan was.

...

His parents weren’t home until dinner time. They ate in silence, except when Gaston’s father had something to say about politics or work.

“Mom, dad.” Gaston said at the end of dinner. His voice was left without his normal vigor, his face downcast. “I have something to tell you.”

“What is it, honey? You don’t look well.” His mother said.

“Spit it out, son.” His father said immediately, immediately judging Gaston. "Have you done something wrong? What it is?"

“I’m gay.” Gaston said, without preamble. The knots in his stomach tightened, but his body remained still. He braced himself for the inevitable.

The room went cold. His mother began to cry, her hands over her mouth. His father didn’t look at up at him when he spoke.

“No, you’re not.” His father said. "You're friend, Stanley, he must have done something--"

“Yes, I am." Gaston said. "I’ve known since the seventh grade, maybe sooner.”

“We can get you the help you need.” His mother said.

“You can’t change me. I already tried.” Gaston replied. He hated to see her like this, but he couldn't live with lying any longer. “I don’t want to pretend anymore.”

“Get out, then.” His father said.

So Gaston stood, walked calmly to the front door, and left. His keys were still in his pocket, his jacket and belongings in the car, and he drove away.

…

He found himself at the doorstep of a modest suburban home, and he rang the bell.

Maurice answered the door, looking bewildered at the teen. Gaston looked absolutely downtrodden, which was the exact opposite of how he usually was in school. Maurice knew exactly how much Belle was bothered by the boy, so he knew they weren't friends. And although he wasn't a very bright student, Gaston at least tried in Maurice's class. That was more than most teachers could say about Gaston. 

“Gaston?” The older man said. "What can I do for you?"

“Is Belle home?” He asked. “I owe her an apology. And an explanation.”

Maurice hummed, unsure, but had an instinctual feeling that the boy was being genuine, so he stepped aside and let him in. 

"Belle?" Maurice called. "You have a visitor."

Gaston heard footsteps coming from a back room. When she came through a hallway, Belle looked surprised, and then a bit angry. 

“What are you doing in my house?” She asked, looking back and forth between Maurice and Gaston.

“He’s here to apologize.” Maurice said. 

“Yeah.” Gaston confirmed. He was currently trying not to cry, but his voice gave away some of his sorrow. “I’m, uh, sorry for every time I made you uncomfortable. I was being a jerk. More than a jerk...I was overcompensating. I was pretending to like you, because maybe if I pretended long enough, it’d be true." He looked up, eyes watery, jaw clenched. "You were right, I am a fake.”

Belle looked absolutely bewildered. Seeing the feeling in his face, hearing it in his voice, it's more emotion than she'd ever seen him convey. “Why were you doing that, then? Pretending to like me?”

“Because I’m in love with my best friend.” Gaston confessed. “But I ruined that, too.” The tears fell from his eyes, and without restraint, he began to sob. He hadn’t allowed himself to do anything like this in years, not since he was a child.

In moments, he felt Belle’s arms around him, and he couldn’t believe her good nature. For years, he’d tormented her, and now she was comforting him.

“You hate me, right?” He said through his sobs.

“No.” She said. “That was the first time I ever believed a word you've said. Thank you for opening up.”

Gaston then leaned into her, embracing her as well, letting her hold him. It was a relief and a gift, and through his sadness, he felt some good in it. Maurice was leaning on the wall next to them, utterly surprised and trying to take it all in. 

“I wish my parents were like you.” He said. “I opened up, and they threw me out.”

“They what?!” Maurice gasped. "That's despicable!"

Gaston calmed down after a few moments. He leaned back and sniffed. “I would've gone straight to Lefou's house, his parents like me, but, we’re not on good terms right now.” 

"Right." Belle said. "He told me what happened."

Maurice immediately offered Gaston the guest bedroom, and so for a few hours, Gaston and Belle talked. he opened up about his intolerant family, his fears, his loneliness, even about his feelings for Lefou. 

“I see why Lefou likes to talk to you so often." Gaston said with a weak smile. "I actually feel a little better.”

“I’m glad.” Belle said. 

The doorbell rang, interrupting them. 

“Oh, that must be the pizza.” Belle said. “You stay here, I’ll get it.” 

Gaston waited in silence for a few minutes, looking around the guest room that doubled as storage for all of Maurice's little inventions. He brought the blanket slung across his shoulders a little closer when he heard a small knock on the slightly open door. 

The door opened further and Gaston looked up to see Lefou. He was wearing his work uniform.

“Lefou?” Gaston said, completely surprised.

Lefou stepped inside and closed the door. “Belle called me and told me that you were here.”

Gaston didn’t know what to say, but felt the tears rise up again. Lefou sat on the bed where Belle had moments ago, and reached out a hand to touch his friend's face.

“I’ve never seen you this upset.” Lefou said.

“I’ve never allowed myself to be this upset.” Gaston answered. “Not under my parent’s roof. Not while I had to pretend to be someone else.”

“What are you talking about? I know your parents are a little strict, but what…why did they kick you out?”

“Belle didn’t tell you?” Gaston asked. When Lefou shook his head, Gaston let out a shaky breath. “I told them that I’m…a thespian.”

Lefou’s eyes widened in immediate understanding. “Why would you do that?”

“I couldn’t take it anymore. I had to.” Gaston replied, feeling more confident then he'd felt all day.

Lefou search his eyes, becoming emotional himself. “…Why didn’t you tell me?”

Gaston shrugged and ran a hand through his hair, feeling silent tears fall. “It’d been too long. I thought it might go away. I thought that it would never work.”

Lefou reached out and Gaston leaned in. Lefou cradled him, rocking him back and forth in a warm embrace.

“I wanted to tell you, before in Maurice’s class…” Gaston said.

“What did you want to say?” Lefou asked. 

Gaston looked up, and after a moment of eye contact, leaned in further. He remembered the first time he’d thought of kissing Lefou, how he'd immediately pushed the thought away. After years of suppressing these thoughts, he waited and asked without words if his best friend might make this dream a reality.

Lefou took a moment, but leaned in as well. Their lips met and there were fireworks. They kissed sweetly for a few seconds, and when they separated, they hugged, clinging to each other.

“I love you too. And I’m sorry, for everything.” Gaston said.

“It’s ok. We’ll get through this. Together." Lefou said. "Do you want to come over to my place?”

“Will your parents be Ok with that?” Gaston asked. “Especially if we’re…together?”

“Yes, I know they will be.” Lefou said leaning back and smiled.

For the first time that day, Gaston gave a real, genuine smile. 


End file.
